Pearce Middle School Extreme Room Makeover
by
Kazuki Konno
[Weekend of Oct 31st through Nov 2nd 2008]
Acknowledgements
I thought about the best way of documenting all the
blessings that we received throughout the project. Instead
of jotting down what happened from the “third person”,
I have decided to share the experience from my point
of view as if I was telling a story …
Chapter 1: HopeFest
This project was a part of “HopeFest and 60 days
of services”. Mike and Carol couldn’t make it to the
first meeting for HopeFest, and Jeanne and I pinch-hit
them. We tried to get people to come to the festival
as volunteers, but I was the only person who showed
up. I was disappointed, and started worrying about the
middle school project.
Chapter 2: Tennis Court
I chose this middle school project among many other
projects because I had had a great experience with painting
and remodeling a house before. The work was fairly simple
and all the volunteers got to talk to each other and
built relationships. Remodeling a “family room” looked
great to me.
Mike, Carol, Jeanne and I went to look at the room to
remodel, and we were stunned. The room was as big as
a tennis court. This “family room” needed two office
spaces, a conference space, and a living room. And,
we had to plan everything, including getting furniture,
paint, etc. We had many questions: “Who is going to
pay for all this?”, “Are people from BridgePoint going
to show up for this?”.
For some reason, I had peace in my heart, and sensed
that this was the right project for us. Jeanne felt
the same way, saying “God will make it happen.” Facing
something almost impossible made us depend on God alone.
After seeing the room, my frustration, anxiety, and
disappointment from HopeFest went away by committing
myself to the Lord and letting Him orchestrate everything.
“It is not about me or us, but about Him now,” I said.
Photo 1: “before”
Chapter 3: Huge Conference Table
We needed a lot of furniture and money to purchase
it. Mike, Carol, Jeanne and I reloaded craigslist every
minute and found some deals. God explicitly revealed
His Might at that time. Before buying any furniture,
a friend of Mike’s donated $1,000 for this project.
We went to one place to buy just a couch, and the couple
there also had a lot more of the furniture we needed
and gave us a huge discount.
A conference table for eight people was, I thought,
a tough one to find on craigslist and too expensive
to buy from a store. However, we did find one online.
The problem was that it was too heavy and big to carry
from the second floor. Mike was having back problems,
and I was a guy with a back support belt and no muscle.
So, we called John for help. John’s cell phone was in
“silence all” mode, but somehow he looked at the phone
right when we rang. He got there quickly and we managed
to carry the table to the truck.
We received countless blessings in collecting the furniture
and other resources we needed. Sherwin Williams donated
five gallons of paint, Walmart and Home Depot donated
gift certificates, Home Depot also let us use a truck
for free.
Chapter 4: Teamwork
The actual remodeling process went pretty smoothly.
Many people from BridgePoint came out as well as Susan’s
friends, Jim, Joseph, and Todd, and Karl, Betty, Charlotte,
some parents, kids and students from the middle school.
Miles was so adorable. He was a small, cute boy, but
had a BIG serving heart. He lifted more than I did…
We experienced God through teamwork. Whether we are
a part of BridgePoint or “traditional church”, whether
we have known each other for years or for a day, we
are ONE in Christ.
My main job was to support Jeanne who was the leader
of the project. I experienced God in teaching me how
to be a supporter and an encourager for her. I believe,
Jeanne learned a lesson in how to step up and take leadership
from God through this project. (Susan and I also learned
a tough lesson in how to iron curtains from Carol
)
Once the remodeling started, time went by very quickly.
The Florida Mango color made the room look very warm
and bright; the well-ironed curtains looked fancy; all
the furniture from different places somehow matched
in the room.
Photo 2: “teamwork”
Chapter 5: Worship
I had a chance to attend two worship services during
the weekend of remodeling. On Saturday, I worshipped
with the Saturday night group to which I belong. Everyone
shared how much God had been blessing and teaching them
through the middle school project, and I experienced
an amplification of blessings by sharing with people
we love. On Sunday, after finishing remodeling the room,
Mike, Carol, Andy, Bryan, Susan, Jeanne and I worshiped
together with Karl, Betty, and Charlotte. We shared
the most joyful moments in the project, and praised
God together. That time was probably the most joyful
moment for me.
Pearce Middle School needs a lot of prayers, and Karl,
Betty, and Charlotte need encouragement. God helped
BridgePoint to minister to them by remodeling the room.
At the same time, we received tons of blessings from
God.
Chapter 6: Concluding Remarks
Every time we commit ourselves to the Lord and serve
others, we are blessed and God receives glory. This
seems to me like a rule of thumb in a service project.
Jeanne and I hope that Bridgepoint will continue to
serve the Austin community and be united through such
service as one body. Jeanne and I would also like to
thank those who participated in this project.
Epilogue: Funny Stories
• Mike and Andy trying to get the grout mixture
out of the tube without a gun! (Photo 2)
• Ryan and Kazuki carrying a heavy office partition
together, and seeing Mike lifting the same thing by
himself – later on finding out that the one Mike lifted
was much lighter.
• Trying to put up the masking tape with a straight
line (multiple attempts) whilst being filmed by News
8 Austin.
Seeing Kazuki’s big strong belt which helped him immensely
as he drove the other truck we borrowed.
Photo 3: “after”
You can see some more pictures by clicking
here.
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